Seven months ago there was doubts about if Petra Kvitova will ever play tennis again after suffering an injury during a knife attack. Those doubts are no more following her one-sided start at the French Open.
Playing her first competitive match since November, Kvitova made world No.86 Julie Boserup look somewhat ordinary as she disposed of the American 6-3, 6-2, in just 73 minutes. The display saw the former world No.2 hit a total of 31 winners, an impressive tally for a player who didn’t decide to play in the tournament until the last minute.
“I didn’t have a lot of time to practice. We practiced like two or three weeks maximum.” Kvitova said about her French Open preparation.
“I’m glad with how I played today of course. There are a few things to improve, but it is what I can expect after such a long time.”
There appeared to be no lack in intensity or passion in Kvitova’s tennis due to her absence. If anything, the 15th seed was more determined to win than ever. An impressive first set saw the two-time grand slam champion hit 11 winners within 15 minutes as she powered her way to a 3-0 lead. Boserup did provide glimmers of her best tennis with a series of forehand winners, but they failed to derail Kvitova. After 40 minutes of play, a Kvitova cross-court forehand winner secured the opening set, triggering a huge roar from her towards her entourage in the crowd.
Continuing to bully Boserup ion the court with her heavy hitting, Kvitova broke to love immediately at the start of the second set to edge closer towards the second round. Even an unscheduled rain shower failed to spoil the momentum of the Czech player. A forehand error from Boserup secured Kvitova the double break as she served for the match and her first win of 2017. The dream comeback was then completed when a lengthy rally concluded with an error from the American player.
An emotional win for @Petra_Kvitova.
What an inspiration. #RG17 pic.twitter.com/IvmKodl7Eh
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) 28 May 2017
Hitting a total of nine aces and winning 78% of her first service points, Kvitova paid tribute to her camp following her win. In the crowd her friends and support team wore t-shirts with the words ‘Courage, belief and Pojd.’ Pojd is a Czech term Kvitova uses. It was a symbolic gesture to a player who underwent four hours of surgery in December and an intruder stabbed her in the hand during a confrontation.
“We were thinking about something special for this tournament and that what showed up.” The 27-year-old said about the t-shirts.
“I’m really glad that we (my team) made the decision to play here.” She later added. “Thank you I really love you, thank you for everything. You helped me through this difficult time.”
15th seeded Kvitova will play either Bethanie Mattek-Sands or Evgeniya Rodinova in the second round.
